JOHANNESBURG – President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has responded to President Trump’s demand that opposition figure Julius Malema be arrested for repeatedly chanting “kill the farmer.”

Also on Tuesday, a high-ranking South African government official told Digital that the chant “inflamed hatred” and warranted “legal consequences.”

Last week in the Oval Office, President Trump showed Ramaphosa, who was visiting, a video of Malema chanting the phrase. Trump then told the South African president that Malema should be arrested.

On Sunday, Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which garnered just under 10% of the vote in last May’s South African election and is not part of the government, told a crowd of thousands at a rally in South Africa’s Free State, “I will never be intimidated by Donald Trump.”

Only four days after the president’s call for his arrest, Malema repeated the chant, shouting to cheers, “Shoot to kill. Kill the Boer (Afrikaans farmer), the farmer.” The Afrikaners are descendants of primarily Dutch settlers who arrived in South Africa starting in 1652.

Appearing to want to emphasize defiance, Malema then chanted “I repeat, kill the Boer, the farmer.”

Responding to President Trump’s call for Malema’s arrest, Ramaphosa told reporters on Tuesday that there are no plans to detain the EFF leader. “It’s not a matter where we need to be instructed by anyone (to) go and arrest this one. (Malema) We are a very proud sovereign country that has its own laws, that has its own processes.”

Ramaphosa added that South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2022 that the slogan “kill the Boer, kill the farmer” was merely a decades-old “liberation chant and slogan, and it’s not meant to be a message that elicits or calls upon anyone to go and be killed, and that is what our court decided.” Critics note that Malema sits on South Africa’s Judicial Services Commission – the body responsible for appointing judges.

This all occurs against the backdrop of President Trump accusing South Africa of genocide against farmers and inviting 49 White individuals to the U.S. as refugees.

“That chant has no place in a democratic South Africa,” Ian Cameron of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party told Digital. The DA is South Africa’s main opposition party and a member of the government, with Cameron serving as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police.

Cameron stated that Malema’s repetition of the chant this past weekend was “continuing to divide society and inflame hatred and mistrust. (It) plays a specific role in why farm attacks in are so unique: while brutal attacks continue in rural areas, he sings that song with pride, and many of his supporters openly celebrate the violence on social media.”

“I do believe that — especially through songs like ‘Kill the Boer’, crosses a dangerous and unacceptable line,” Cameron continued. “Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy, but it cannot be used as a shield for promoting violence. At the very least, there should be legal consequences for incitement of violence, and our justice system must act without fear or favor.”

Ramaphosa said he was not going to have people arrested “willy nilly,” adding on Tuesday, “we are a country where freedom of expression is the bedrock of our constitutional arrangement.”

Malema remains unfazed, stating, “I will sing the song as and when I like.”

Digital reached out to Malema but did not receive a response.

Attacks on both White and Black farmers are a reality here. Cameron told Digital, “I’ve personally stood in the aftermath of these attacks. I’ve walked into scenes that resembled abattoirs. I remember one farm where the victim’s fingernail marks were still embedded in the carpet from where he was dragged and tortured. These are not ordinary crimes and often include disproportionate violence.”